Caterpillar
by Ji-soo
Summary: Haruno Sakura is completely unprepared for the life of a shinobi. With civilian parents and only textbook knowledge, the rules and regulations are completely different for kunoichi from the standard set and her only mentor is Hatake Kakashi, who is not giving her a break.
1. Chapter 1

AN: So back with another story, this time it's more of a development, Team Seven story and Sakura finding her way with so many rules and regulations for kunoichi. I hope you guys like it, I love Team Seven stories and decided to write my own. R&R!

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Chapter One: Short hair is mandatory.

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It's the day after their final Genin exam and the newly formed Team Seven is assembled in Training Ground 10 early at the crack of dawn, Sakura for her part is starving but she's on a diet and can't afford to eat breakfast. Naruto and Sasuke-kun settle into stretching exercises and she watches from the side as she leans against one of the many trees, she keeps taking sips of water figuring she may as well fill her stomach with water so she could keep the hunger at bay. Sakura isn't very good at the physical part of it but she can make up for it with her intelligence. Still, Naruto and Sasuke-kun don't have to stretch yet, Kakashi-sensei won't be arriving until three hours later or at least that's what she's expecting.

What she's not expecting is for her legs to be kicked out from under her, she's barely able to catch herself and when she stands both Naruto and Sasuke-kun are in front of her and ready to fight. But its just Kakashi-sensei and he's looking at them speculatively.

"Good to know two members of my team are ready for an attack. Great job, Sakura you just got yourself killed for not paying attention." Kakashi-sensei deadpans and Sakura grimaces, not the best impression but she could do better.

Naruto and Sasuke-kun glance at her and she can feel their dislike for her, she wasn't exactly the most wanted member of Team Seven.

"Now, let's begin with some light exercise. Thirty laps around the field, now!" Kakashi-sensei must be freaking crazy because there is no way she's going to be able to complete them and she hadn't even stretched! But Naruto and Sasuke-kun are already far ahead of her and close to the halfway point, reluctantly she follows after them but she can see that Kakashi-sensei is looking at her with none too impressed eyes.

Her lungs are burning by the time she gets to lap twenty, there is at stitch on her side and she can barely keep going. Naruto and Sasuke-kun are done and stretching to prevent their muscles from cramping up, Kakashi-sensei is just looking at her and waiting for her, they're all waiting for her and Sakura can feel her eyes prickle. She isn't a very good shinobi. By the time she gets to her last lap, she can barely stand up and she gulps as much water as she can before it's harshly ripped from her hands.

Naruto is looking at her with the bottle in his hands. "It's not good to drink so much water at once, don't you know that?"

Sakura blushes and resists the urge to smack him, the last time she had done that Sasuke-kun had gripped her arm so tight, she had a dark purple-green bruise for the better part of a month. Sasuke-kun was extremely protective of Naruto after he had found the blonde boy beaten to pulp in alley, no one really knew how it happened but ever since then Sasuke-kun was always with Naruto and didn't let anyone bully him.

Kakashi-sensei finally looks at her and just shakes his head at her, "Not the best time Sakura, how do you expect to take missions if this is how fast you go?"

She looks at the floor and really tries to hold back the tears but it's hard. She doesn't have shinobi parents like Ino, she doesn't have anyone to teach her how to train and guide her, she only has her books and those can only get her so far. Naruto nudges her and she reluctantly looks at him, he smiles at her a bit and she feels slightly better.

"Now, we're going to be sparring for a bit. In real battles, enemy shinobi will use any trick they know so when you're fighting use whatever it takes to win the match. Got it?"

Sakura is in deep shit.

Naruto had barely passed the Academy in terms of intellectuality but he was physically stronger and a better fighter than she was, she could've been dead last if she didn't have her smarts, but now those were certainly not going to help.

"Sasuke and Sakura, you're up first. Try to last as long as you can just no jutsus, okay?" Kakashi-sensei is leaning against the tree and Naruto is looking at her with a pitying look but he gives her thumbs up either way, he was way too nice to be friends with Sasuke-kun.

"Genin, fight!"

She really was no match for Sasuke-kun, he's on her in a second and she can barely dodge the first punch that he throws at her by dropping to the ground with only a second to spare to roll away from the incoming kick. Adrenaline is surging through her, and she jumps up only to barely use the back of her forearm to stop the arm coming for her face but can't stop the kick that catches her in the stomach. His kicks have such incredible strength that they push her away from him, as she's falling on her behind, she catches the boring look Kakashi-sensei is throwing her and resolves to fight harder.

But Sasuke-kun won't even give her a chance to fight, she sees him in the air, his leg aiming for a straight kick to her stomach and for a second she can't move, she has no strength left and barely manages to catch Sasuke-kun's leg with her arms. With a crazy snarl, she twists his leg with as much strength as she can manage and throws him away from her. Her arms hurt and now she's at the end, she makes to jump away from that spot when she feels a hand tangle in her hair and harshly pull her back and onto the ground.

"Enough Sasuke let her go." Kakashi-sensei calls and she feels the harsh grip on her hair loosen. Sasuke-kun pats her head and walks away but she can barely acknowledge that, she made a fool of herself in front of her team. She wasn't made for this but she was trying and now they all knew that she wasn't good enough.

She slinks back to stand next to Naruto; she can't look at any of them.

"You did good Sakura-chi, surprised all of us!" Naruto laughs and she can barely lift her head, her eyes are blurry and she's going to cry any second but instead she's surprised to see her team looking at her differently.

They're all smiling; Kakashi-sensei reaches over and pats her head, and tangles his hand in her hair. "Take a break, Sakura-chi."

She nods and slips onto the ground, they approved of her! She hadn't lasted more than a minute but it was against Sasuke-kun and she had given it her all and they noticed! Sasuke-kun even acknowledged her!

She can only watch distractedly as Naruto and Sasuke-kun spar, they're on a different level from her but she could catch up, she knows she can. Kakashi-sensei watches the boys and she stretches meanwhile, her body hurts but she can go for another round.

"Let's stop," Kakashi-sensei stops them, "We're going to start missions tomorrow and keep meeting before and after to work on your strengths and weaknesses."

She hands water from her canteen to Sasuke-kun and Naruto rather timidly but they accept it and Naruto flashes her a smile. They all sit down in a circle and wait to be dismissed.

"Sakura-chi," Kakashi-sensei looks at her. "Please come with your hair cut tomorrow."

She freezes; Sakura has been growing her hair ever since she heard Sasuke-kun liked girls with long hair. Not only that, her long hair makes her forehead look smaller than when she has short hair.

"Shinobi should only have long hair if they're able to stop enemies from grabbing it like Sasuke-chan did earlier, until you can stop them properly you are not allowed to have long hair."

She knows it makes sense, if Sasuke-kun had had a kunai in his hand he could have easily slit her throat and she would have been dead but emotionally, she loves her hair. It makes her feel better about herself, makes her feel a bit like Ino; confident and strong, like she can stand proudly next to her peers.

Sakura can't stop the tears now and hangs her head in shame because she's a shinobi now and she shouldn't be crying. There is no place for crying when on the battlefield.

"Maa, maa Sakura-chi there's no need to cry. I know somewhere we can get your hair cut and you'll look cute, ne?" Kakashi-sensei makes her look up and wipes her tears away. Naruto and Sasuke-kun are both at her side and patting her head, they just feel sorry for her. "Sakura-chi, shinobi life is hard but it's especially hard for kunoichi, there are more rules and regulations and know-hows than for male shinobi but if you grow in strength, you can bypass all those rules and regulations."

"I understand, sensei." She stands up and Kakashi-sensei holds her hand and as a team they go back to the Village center. Naruto and Sasuke-kun linger behind her, she stopped crying but she can't stop her hands from shaking. They stop at a small barbershop and when they enter, she's confronted with a huge, hairy man littered with scars all over his body.

"I don't think this is the right place…" Sasuke-kun says and she can't help but nod, this man looks like the only thing he can do is give buzz cuts and she doesn't want that. She tries to pull her hand away from Kakashi-sensei but he's not letting go and drags her over to an empty seat and makes her sit down.

"Please make it cute."

She sits in that chair for thirty minutes with her eyes closed, she can't look especially when he starts cutting her hair, the sound of scissors cutting pretty pink locks makes her want to cry but she just grips the arms of the chair tightly.

"All done, miss."

Naruto squeals in delight and she can hear Sasuke-kun chuckling but she doesn't open her eyes, she can't.

"Come on Sakura-chi, open your eyes you look so cute."

She opens her eyes and looks in the mirror with wide green eyes; her hair is really short so that it only reaches below her ears but it's been curled so that it folds gently in and gives her face a slimmer look. She looks completely different but still it somehow makes her look and feel cute, she loves it. She looks deceivingly innocent, while she may not have been as physically strong as Naruto and Sasuke-kun; she was still stronger than the average male civilian.

"For kunoichi, using their looks is as much a strength as any other. Deception is also a part of the job and you look like an innocent little girl who couldn't harm anyone. Use it to your advantage Sakura-chi."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So here's another chapter, what I never understood is that later on in the series we learn that Sakura has shinobi parents but they somehow never taught her any jutsus or trained her. Sakura has shinobi parents that raise her like a regular civilian. Anway, R&R!

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Chapter Two: There is no dieting.

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It's two months after becoming Team Seven that Sakura finds herself in Training Ground 5; it's a muddy terrain that Kakashi-sensei insisted they train on. They booked the place two weeks ago and they were finally getting around to use it, Sakura was hungry but her diet wasn't over and so she drank water. Little sips because she didn't want to make herself sick later on during training.

Naruto and Sasuke-kun arrive soon after and together they start stretching, they have been more friendly and helpful to Sakura since she got her haircut and they actually looked forward to training with her. Sakura wasn't stupid, she still wasn't at their level but she could hold her own now and because she knew her strength was in smarts, she started to read more books in hopes of developing her own style. As such, now she was becoming stronger and today during their training, she would show them what she had been learning for the past month.

"My cute little students! Good morning!" Kakashi-sensei was dangling from a branch upside down. Sakura raised her hand in a wave and wondered when she would be able to do that. Naruto and Sasuke-kun also seemed to think that.

"Now let's start with some light exercise," He was going to make them run in the muddy field, she just knew it. "40 laps around the field, you have half an hour to complete it."

Sakura hated running but she followed after Naruto and Sasuke-kun, she was still a bit on the slow side but she was able to finish in time and she was only out of breath. Her endurance was growing.

"Better time Sakura-chi! Now for the sparring, Naru-chan and Sakura-chi give it your all." Kakashi-sensei ruffles her hair, she quickly swats his hands away because she cares very much about her hair and she didn't want him ruining it.

Sakura knows that Naruto is a powerhouse, his stamina is incredible and he can keep a fight going for as long as he can. Which is usually an hour or so but Sakura has low stamina and she can't last in a fight long, this time they're both allowed to use chakra and she can see her chance coming.

Naruto has a fighting style that is all his own, it's wild and complicated and follows a pattern that only he knows but it works and Sakura is immediately on the defensive. She uses her lighter frame to dance out of punches and kicks, and when he's close to landing a kick on her face, she raises her arm and concentrates. She knows that there are shinobi that can use their chakra as a shield, the Hyuuga use that technique but so can she, of course she doesn't know how they do it exactly but she gathers chakra all over her forearm and with quick reflexes, she blocks it, her chakra forming a cushion so that his leg barely touches her skin.

Naruto looks surprised and out of balance but she takes this opportunity and jumps into the air. Lady Tsunade was said to be able to concentrate chakra into her hands and when she released it, she could level mountains with her monstrous strength. Well, she knows the basics and Sakura knows that there is probably some fault with the technique but as she concentrates, she forces her chakra into a tight ball around her fist and just as she's about to land a devastating punch on Naruto, he rolls away and she's forced to release the power onto the muddied ground.

The ground doesn't crack as she knows it should, instead she literally makes an earthquake. The ground trembles beneath her hand and she watches as seismic waves roll out from her and away, the earthquake was small, not dangerous to the village but when Sakura had read about the great feats of Lady Tsunade, she had decided to follow but with a different technique. When Lady Tsunade released her power, she made it so the chakra would literally dig into the ground and force the dirt up, explode in simpler terms. Sakura didn't want that, it wasn't subtle and she didn't want to be the second Lady Tsunade.

Instead, when she released her chakra she released it in gentle waves that if landed on an opponent would cause their chakra to scramble, disrupt the flow by natural causes while still causing devastating damages from the initial release. But if it hit solid ground, the waves would only cause seismic reactions, similar to that of an earthquake.

"What the hell, Sakura-chi?!" Naruto is covered in mud and looking at her with wide incredulous eyes. She looks to Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun and finds them looking at her with the same expression. "You totally made an earthquake! How did you do that?!"

Sakura smiles wide but the match is still on and she's not done yet, she has another trick up her sleeves. This time she waits until Naruto is coming at her again, he's a bit more forceful and when he goes to grab her wrists, she lets him and just as he's about to throw her over his shoulder and across the field, she forces chakra to her feet. She knows that in theory, one could mold chakra into different shapes such as scalpels or protective barriers and with this simple theory; she worked on creating spikes on the soles of her feet. The spikes keep her solidly in the ground and no force on earth is going to force her to move. When Naruto goes to lift her, she's stuck on the ground and he gapes at her in astonishment, she immediately grasps his wrist and with reinforced chakra on her hand, she delivers a straight punch to his stomach and watches as he crumbles right before her eyes.

The fight is over, she has no more chakra and can't create new techniques but Naruto can keep going and so she raises her hand as a sign of defeat and collapses on the mud.

"Sakura-chi, where did you learn to do that?" Kakashi-sensei walks to her and pulls her up from the ground, she barely reaches his chest but she feels so big in that moments because he's looking at her in a new light; a new possibility.

Sasuke-kun stares at her. "I want to spar with her next time."

"That's a first!" She gratefully takes the water that Sasuke-kun hands her and gulps some down. "I created it all on my own, I read in a book how Lady Tsunade was able to have her incredible strength but I changed it and if I had landed that first punch, Naruto's chakra would've been disrupted. I read a medical book about how to scramble chakra."

They all sit around her and she wonders if she said something wrong, but she wanted to be on the same level as them and she wanted their approval. Maybe she wasn't meant to be creating techniques on her own and she should have run it by Kakashi-sensei first. She could've leveled the whole village if she had made a mistake!

"You learned all that from a book?" Kakashi-sensei asks her, he sounds surprised and she can't blame him, if anything she would be too if she were him.

"Yes, I know I'm not as strong as Naruto or Sasuke-kun so I've been working on it for the past two months. Did I not do good, Kakashi-sensei?" She's wringing her hands on her lap and feels tears prickle her eyes but she stubbornly holds them back. Sakura doesn't have anyone to teach her at home or anyone to spar with but she wants to be strong and she wants for them to acknowledge that she can be on the same level that they can go all out on her when they spar instead of holding back. If she has to create her own techniques to achieve that then she will.

"You did more that good Sakura-chi, not a lot of Genin are able to use chakra in its raw form like that."

Sakura feels her chest bloom at his approval and smiles because she will be on their level soon.

"Let's have Sasuke-chan take a turn with Naru-chan and then we'll go celebrate, okay?"

She watches them fight with no restriction and no abandon, Naruto and Sasuke-kun always look so happy when they spar together. Their fighting is like no other and she so wishes she were able to join them but if she did, she would interrupt the intricate dance they had.

They're all so muddy by the time they're done training but Kakashi-sensei keeps his word and leads them to a barbeque place with outdoor seating, they don't want to get anything dirty. Sakura watches anxiously as they order so much meat that they might not be able to finish it but she also worries because she's not supposed to be eating at this hour but she can't deny the food because it's all for her.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chi?" Naruto looks at her empty plate suspiciously, his is laden with a ton of food and even Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei have a good deal of food on theirs but hers only contains one small piece of meat and nothing else. "Are you not hungry?"

She's starving and practically salivating but she's so close to her weight limit that she doesn't even want to put the meat in her mouth. Ino said her diet was going great and was close to her ideal weight and she wasn't about to lose to that pig.

"I'm on a diet…" She blushes when they all look at him. "I'm not supposed to eat after a certain hour…"

Kakashi-sensei puts down his chopsticks and looks at her with a stern look on his face. "And what exactly does this diet consist of?"

She fucked up and shouldn't have said that but now it's out and she can't exactly lie about it. Her diet is extreme if she was honest with herself but she lost weight fast and she was happy with the results, although now she wasn't so sure. "No breakfast and only light things for lunch and no dinner after seven p.m."

Sasuke-kun starts to take food from his plate and onto hers, he's frowning but isn't looking at her in the eye and she can't look at anyone.

"Sakura-chi, a young girl your age, especially a shinobi, has to have more than that to be able to sustain themselves. It's no wonder you have such low reserves if you don't give your body the proper food to create and replenish." Kakashi-sensei raps her lightly on the head.

"I didn't know that…"

"You should be having a total of four meals a day on average but since from what I saw today, I would say perhaps six meals if you keep creating your own techniques. Naru-chan and Sasuke-chan eat six times a day to be able to keep up with their bodies and the amount of chakra they create and use."

Sakura is blushing because that makes sense, if anything it should have been more than obvious but how was she supposed to know, it's not like anyone at home would have told her that!

"Ino is also on a diet!" Well she's not going to go down by herself.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a diet since she eats four times a day, her father would smack her silly if she tried to eat less than that." Kakashi-sensei says and makes her pick up her chopsticks so she can start eating. He doesn't stop looking at her until she has a big mouthful. "Not only that but the food she eats is specifically for improving cognitive development since her family specializes in mind jutsu."

Naruto gives her his bowl of rice and she reluctantly starts to eat it because they all won't stop staring at her unless she's chewing something.

"Hinata east five meals a day since her family uses raw chakra as part of their jutsu and those jutsu eat through their reserves fast but they eat just as much to be able to replenish not only that but the Byakugan uses a surprising amount of chakra in a short amount of time."

All the meat in her plate is gone but there is more soon enough and she starts to eat a little less guilty.

"There is no such thing as dieting for shinobi, training and missions is enough to keep us in shape not only but if you have no chakra and no strength then you're better off being a civilian." Kakashi-sensei looks at her from the corner of his eye and she forces herself to keep chewing. "Tomorrow, I will hand you a new eating regime that you must follow until I deem it necessary for you to stop. Do you understand Sakura-chi?"

She nods and keeps eating with more gusto, she will not be a regular civilian after having tasted the life of a shinobi.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Not even kunoichi can escape the deadly monthlies, I've always wondered how they would treat that in the shinobi world and now I'm addressing it, also this may have later updates since it's a little side fic of mine. Anyway, enjoy! R&R! (Also check out my bio for recommendations on fics to read)

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Chapter Three: Monthly

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Haruno Sakura is only twelve years old, she doesn't have many curves and her chest isn't that well developed, she really couldn't appeal to anyone at that age. She knew that at certain age she would begin her monthlies but she expected that time to be years away, she didn't think she would have to worry about it at twelve. Well now she has to worry about it, her shorts are stained red as is her bedroll and her pack is outside next to the others and she's not going to go out there.

"Sakura-chi, it's time to start heading out!" Naruto calls from outside and she clutches her bedroll closer to her. She felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and despaired at being a girl, the boys didn't have to worry about this sort of thing. Not only that but this was also their first mission outside the village, really nothing extraordinary just delivering a scroll to Karatsu Village about a two days away and waiting for the response before heading back to the village.

The night prior as she had been packing her backpack, she wasn't sure what to pack as Kakashi-sensei hadn't really said anything but she figured going with the standard Academy list would be fine. Dry soap, toilet paper, bandages, soldier pills, bedroll and extra kunai and shuriken. She had packed three extra sets of underwear and a change of clothes, her mother had suggested bringing some feminine hygienic products but Sakura had just ignored her because she wasn't going to start her monthlies for the first time on a mission.

Well, she had started sometime after her watch last night and she could only stare at the red patch on her shorts in despair. How would she be able to even bring this up with Kakashi-sensei and the others? Did Ino also have to worry about this? Her face was hot and she had started to cry sometime during the last few seconds but what was she supposed to do?!

"Sakura, hurry up." Sasuke-kun said, he was right outside her tent and she could see him reach for the zipper. She couldn't let anyone see her like this!

"Leave me alone!"

She started to feel a slight pain in her abdomen and felt horrified when she felt more wetness, now she really wanted to start crying.

"Sakura-chi, are you okay?" Naruto was next to Sasuke-kun, they were both going to see her and her bloody shorts and think she was gross!

"Stop it! Leave me alone!" Her voice waivered and she watched with wide eyes as Sasuke-kun turned around and went looking for Kakashi-sensei. The pain in her stomach started to become a little stronger but she ignored it, she couldn't ignore the leaking in between her legs.

"Sakura-chi, can I come in?" But even if he was asking, Kakashi-sensei had already pulled the zipper up to her tent and invited himself in. She probably wasn't the best thing to be looking at, her hair was a mess, she was crying and she was acutely aware of the smell of blood in the small confined space. Kakashi-sensei had the decency to zip down the tent again and afford her some privacy.

He sat crossed legged and stared at her.

"I-I got my montly…" Her face was on fire, she was barely able to spit the words out but she wanted someone to help her. "My clothes and bedroll are dirty."

Now she really cried, big fat tears escaped her eyes and she started to let out big sobs.

"Oh Sakura-chi," Kakashi-sensei sighed and ruffled her hair but made no attempt at pulling her from the bedroll. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about, don't cry."

"But I'm always doing things like this and hold everyone back! I'm just so stupid!" Stupid monthlies were making her sadder and she was spilling her guts out without meaning to.

"Sakura-chi, monthlies are a normal thing and all women go through them even kunoichi. I'm not a woman but I can help you out just stop crying okay?" Kakashi-sensei reaches into his vest and pulled a scroll, there's a poof and suddenly there are multiple items on his lap. "Now, there are two ways kunoichi handle their monthlies. The first method is the traditional way of handling it by using feminine hygiene products, while effective you will have to keep changing every two to three hours and find some way to dispose of them."

He hands her four small squares with green plastic wrapping, the same her mother tried to get her to pack.

"The second is this small pill right here, kunoichi really have no time to be bleeding every month for up to a week, so they developed this small pill that basically makes all the bleeding happen within the span of a day. It has no known side effects and when you start your next monthly, it will only last for the day, it should also take care of cramps and bloating."

The pill is small not bigger than a soldier pill but the bleeding has to happen all in one day, if she takes it now won't she be bleeding heavily for the whole day and they still had to deliver the scroll.

"Won't I bleed the whole day then?"

Kakashi-sensei laughs and drops the pill in her hand. "Well yes but you won't be bleeding buckets either. If anything you should be fine with four pads."

She quickly plops it in her mouth and swallows it dry. "What about my clothes and bedroll?"

"I'll bring your pack over, I hope you brought extra clothes?"

"Yes…"

"Okay, I'll bring that and some water to wash yourself. You can have my bedroll, I'll be fine, okay?" Kakashi-sensei ruffles her hair again and she doesn't push his hand away as she usually would. He didn't make her feel embarrassed or guilty for something that was natural and she really appreciated her sensei for that.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh, Sakura-chi I told you being a kunoichi was hard but we're your team and we're here for you."


End file.
